Improvement in railway-crossings



. l. 0U M MIN 6. Railway-Crussi ng.

Patented Jan. 26,1875.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES OUMMING, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAV-CROSSINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [59,158, dated January 26, 1875 applieation filed January 9, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES CUMMING, of the city of Buflalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Crossing-Frogs for Railroads, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a peculiar construction of that kind of frogs, commonly designated as crossing-frogs, which are employed when two rails cross each other at right augles, or nearly so, as distinguished from that class of frogs which are used when the angle of the intersecting rails is more or less acute.

The nature of my invention will be best understood from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing,Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved crossing-frog. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the chair thereof, the rails being removed. Fig. 3 is a section in line a: m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of the convex bridge-pieces.

Like letters designate like parts in each of the figures.

A A are the two intersecting track-rails, represented in the drawing as crossing each other at right angles. Their adjacent ends are beveled off, so as to form, whenbrought together, a rectangular point or corner, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A A are the next succeeding track-rails, forming continuations of the intersecting rails A A, and arranged with theirlends at a short distance fr m the point thereof, so as to. leave open spaces, which permit the passage ofthe wheel-flanges. B is'the body or chair of the frog, provided with T-shaped recesses or sockets b, in which the ends of the rails A A A A fit with. their base-flanges and webs. The chair B is represented in the drawing as circular in form and provided with an e'xtcrigr flange, b, by means of which it is spiked down to the'sleepcrs or other support. The two'recesses which receive the intersecting rails A A meet at 01' near the center of the frog, while the recesses into which the rails A A are inserted stop short thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that the ends of said recesses form stops for the rails A A. It preferred, however, thefonr recesses b may be formed of two continuous recesses intersecting each other. 0 (J are the guardrails formed on the upper side of the chair B,

flanges of the wheels as they pass over these I open spaces. The upper surface of the pieces (1 d is concave, rising from the top; plane of the chair B toward the central portion, which is a little higher than the under side of the head of the rails. The pieces gd d are arranged in a recess, 0, of the chair, and securedinplaee on one side by an offset or shoulder, f, fitting under the head of the rail, and by forming-the opposite side tapering or of dovetail form, as

shown at g, to engage in the correspondinglyformed recess 0 of the chair; By this'means the bridge-pieces d d are securely held in'plaee without requiringthe use of bolts, rivets, or similar fastenings, which are liable to work loose. I One of the bridge-pieces-in the drawing thepiece du1. y be formed in two parts, or

each may be-ibrined in one piece, and notched so as to interlock, as may be preferred.-

When a wheel passes over the open space in the track-railtl'ie flange of the wheel rides upon the respective bridge-piece, and is supported thereby until the tread of the wheel has passed the open space, whereby the jar' and noise resulting in common frogs from the partial descending of the wheels into these open spaces are entirely prevented.

ter of the frog, or nearly so, distribute the strain more uniformly when a heavily-loaded wheel passes onto the frog, andprevent the tipping of the frog, which very frequently takes place 1n ordmar Y frogs.

. The track-rails A A, extending to the een The bridge-pieces d d are readily detached from the chair 1 without requiring the latter to be taken up, by loosening'the rails and slidin them outward] a short distance.

a i The chair 1), with the recesses b and c andthe guard-rails O O, is readily cast complete inone piece, and forms a most reliable and comparatively cheap support for the intersect ing rails.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the intersecting track-rails A A and continuations A A thereof, of the chair 13, cast complete in. one piece with the guard-mils G C and recesses b, con-- structed and 'arranged substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with the rails A A and the chair B, providfl with socket e, of the-(1etachablc bridge-pieces d d, provided withtbc ofi'set f and tapering side g,'constructed and arranged' substantially as hereinbofore set forth.

JAMES (BUMMING.

Witnesses JNo. J. BONNER, EDWARD WILHELM. 

